Hunting Scene (1800s): Art, History and Details

Hunting Scene (1800s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

The theme of nomad warriors riding horses and hunting wild animals was first painted in the Qing imperial court in China in late 1600s. But it became favored by the Korean royal court and painted by the royal court painter in the late 1700s. The Joseon Korean ruling class members considered Qing nomad warriors to be "barbaric," yet highly admired their hunting and military skills. By the late 1800s, folding screens with the hunting scene were used largely for this dynamic and exotic feature.

Object facts

• Title: Hunting Scene
• Date: 1800s
• Culture: Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392–1910)
• Type: Painting
• Technique: eight-panel folding screen; ink and color on silk
• Dimensions: Overall: 214.6 x 345.4 cm (84 1/2 x 136 in.)
• Collection: ASIAN - Folding screen
• Department: Korean Art
• Accession number: 1993.239

A detail from the museum

The theme of nomad warriors hunting became highly appreciated in the Korean royal court of the 1700s for the king's particular interests in strengthening the royal army's military prowess.

Collection credit

Gift of Leighton R. and Rosemarie Longhi

Further reading listed by the museum

• “1993 Annual Report.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 81, no. 6 (July 1994): 143–218.
• Yi, Sang-guk. "Hunting Scene Paintings in the Latter Half of the Joseon Dynasty [조선 후기의 호렵도]." Hanguk minhwa 1 (2010): 135-173.
• Beyond Folding Screens [조선, 병풍의 나라]. Seoul: Amorepacific Museum of Art, 2018.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.